Pros & Cons of Direct Mail
Direct mailing consists of mailing marketing materials directly to consumers. Businesses target prospective buyers and send direct mailings only to those people who are most likely to buy. They generally send out to hundreds or even thousands of people at once and receive discount bulk shipping rates accordingly. While many companies rely heavily on direct mail, other companies primarily use other forms of marketing because of its disadvantages.
Other People Are Reading
-
Features
-
Direct mail, also known as advertising mail, junk mail or bulk mail, refers to any type of marketing materials sent directly to consumers. Companies often mail marketing materials such as brochures, catalogs, pamphlets, letters or coupons. Some companies send free samples by direct mail, such as a small shampoo bottle or a small laundry detergent sachet. Some mailings come inside envelopes, others come in the form of loose post cards or fliers.
Targeting
-
Businesses must compile a list of prospective buyers to whom they will send the direct mail. Some companies target based solely on location and send a mailing to an entire street, neighborhood or city. In these cases, companies do not need to address mailing materials and simply put one in everybody's mailbox. Other businesses send mailings to previous contacts, such as those who previously purchased their products or people who attended a company event. Companies can also purchase mailing lists from media companies who sell bulk mailing lists.
-
Benefits
-
Direct mailings can produce high response rates because everybody picks up their mail, usually on a daily basis. Unlike other forms of advertising, such as newspaper or magazine ads, that only a percentage of people view, consumers must deal with direct mail in one way or another since it sits in their mailboxes along with other important mail. In addition, companies can earn a high return on investment when they send the mailings to only specific sales leads who they know will likely purchase.
Considerations
-
Businesses often find it difficult to target consumers for direct mailings. Companies often do not have enough business contacts to compile an internal list of mailing contacts. Media companies who sell mailing lists often charge high rates, starting from about 10 cents per name to a dollar or more. Although companies receive bulk mailing discounts from postal services, mailing fees are still high. In addition, many consumers dislike direct mailings, consider it junk mail and have negative impressions of businesses who advertise via this method.
Solution
-
To maximize direct mailing results and lower costs, some companies send out a test mailing to only a small sample of the mailing list before sending to the entire list. If the company is using a purchased list, they purchase a sample of the list for the sample run and then only purchase the full list if many people respond. Companies also modify the marketing materials if only a few people respond to increase response rates when sending to the full list.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Christine Balderas/Photodisc/Getty Images
